Language
English
Publication Date
1-1-2025
Journal
Arthritis Care & Research
DOI
10.1002/acr.25421
PMID
39158165
PMCID
PMC11693476
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
1-1-2026
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
Objective: Autoimmune or inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) increase the risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes. Although rurality is associated with higher post-COVID-19 mortality in the general population, whether rurality elevates this risk among people with AIRD is unknown. We assessed associations between rurality and post-COVID-19 all-cause mortality, up to two years post infection, among people with AIRD using a large nationally sampled US cohort.
Methods: This retrospective study used the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, a medical records repository containing COVID-19 patient data. We included adults with two or more AIRD diagnostic codes and a COVID-19 diagnosis documented between April 2020 and March 2023. Rural residency was categorized using patient residential zip codes. We adjusted for AIRD medications and glucocorticoid prescription, age, sex, race and ethnicity, tobacco or substance use, comorbid burden, and SARS-CoV-2 variant-dominant periods. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards with inverse probability treatment weighting assessed associations between rurality and two-year all-cause mortality.
Results: Among the 86,467 SARS-CoV-2-infected persons with AIRD, we observed a higher risk for two-year post-COVID-19 mortality in rural versus urban dwellers. Rural-residing persons with AIRD had higher two-year all-cause mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 1.24, 95% confidence interval 1.19-1.29). Glucocorticoid, immunosuppressive, and rituximab prescriptions were associated with a higher risk for two-year post-COVID-19 mortality, whereas risk with nonbiologic or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs was lower.
Conclusion: Rural residence in people with AIRD was independently associated with higher two-year post-COVID-19 mortality in a large US cohort after adjusting for background risk factors. Policymakers and health care providers should consider these findings when designing interventions to improve outcomes in people with AIRD following SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially among high-risk rural residents.
Keywords
Humans, COVID-19, Female, Male, Retrospective Studies, Middle Aged, Rheumatic Diseases, Aged, Autoimmune Diseases, Adult, United States, Rural Population, SARS-CoV-2, Risk Factors, Urban Population, Time Factors
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Anzalone, A Jerrod; Jackson, Lesley E; Singh, Namrata; et al., "Long-Term Mortality Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Rural Versus Urban Dwellers With Autoimmune or Inflammatory Rheumatic Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis From the National COVID Cohort Collaborative" (2025). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 6759.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/6759